LAUSD district administrators to get 6.64% pay raises under 3-year contract

More than 2,600 school principals and administrators will get 6.64 percent pay raises from Los Angeles Unified under a three-year contract ratified on Wednesday.

By a margin of 89.7 percent to 10.3 percent, members of the Association of Administrators of Los Angeles’ overwhelming approved the deal in a vote that elicited ballots from more than half of the union’s membership, President Judith Perez said.

“No agreement is perfect,” Perez said. “None of us expect perfection; we expect progress and we feel we’ve achieved that.”

The deal will send administrators an immediate, lump-sum bonus equal to 2 percent of their salary. And within the next 23 months, raises will increase their base pay by a total of 6.64 percent, including, a 2 percent bump dated back to July 1, another 2 percent increase set for next year and, finally, a 2.5 percent hike to be applied July 1, 2016.

It marks the first across-the-board raise for administrators in seven years, Perez said. On average, administrators earn $102,979 per year in salary and cost the district an additional $31,891 per employee for health care and pension benefits — creating a total compensation package of $134,870, according to LAUSD figures reported July 1.

LAUSD officials estimate the pay bumps and benefits for administrators will cost an extra $20.7 million per year once the contract takes full effect in fiscal year 2016-17. However, the 2 percent and 2.5 percent pay raises set for 2015 and 2016, respectively, are contingent on the district being able to afford them. Superintendent John Deasy has said the district may need to scale back plans on programs targeted for expansion, but he’s confident the district will hold up its end of the labor agreement.

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Aside from pay raises, the contract will also add 50 assistant principals to the district’s neediest elementary schools. Each position will be assigned to oversee two schools, bringing much needed relief to principals who are must attend before-school activities, lunch, recess and after-school programs, Perez said.

“I think this pieces of our agreement is critical, because it is what is best for kids,” Perez said.

Thanks to new state funding plans and increased revenues, the district can begin adding administrative and teaching positions in schools with the neediest children, LAUSD spokeswoman Lydia Ramos said.

“Now we’re in a position to kind of surgically restore areas that need that support,” Ramos said.

Administrators also agreed to a new method for evaluating their performance next year. While the finer points still have to worked out, plans call for a four-level evaluation system to replace a current two-tier rating system.

When the new process is implemented in fiscal year 2015-16, it will be tied to performance bonuses, which are also under review. Pilot testing of the four level system, Perez said, has not been without its bumps. The method includes 35 different factors, which make the process take too long, Perez said.

But, “I think overall, the four-point evaluation system has been fine with our members,” Perez said.